The Broncos Tight End Who Had A Monster Game Last Night Didn't Start Playing Football Until His 5th Year In College

Last night, he had five catches for 110 yards and two touchdown
in the Broncos' opening-night win over the Baltimore Ravens

Thomas, a 6'5" pass catcher, never played varsity high school
football. He went out for the team as a freshman, but quit before
preseason ended because of lower back pain caused by a growth
plate issue,
he told MaxPreps in 2011.

He ended up going to Portland State on a basketball scholarship.
His stats were decent (he averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds
as a senior) and his team made the NCAA tournament twice. But as
an undersized forward at a small school, he didn't have much of a
future after playing 121 games for the Vikings in four years.

Here he is during a March Madness game against Kansas:

Jamie Squire/Getty
Images

So after his hoops career ended, he went to the football coach
and asked to go out for the team.

He was a natural. In his first and only season of college
football, he caught 29 balls for 453 yards and made first team
All-Big Sky.

While he was short for a basketball player, he was the perfect
size for a tight end. Combine that speed (4.6-second 40-yard
dash) with great hands, and he had all the natural talent to
excel at football right away.

The Broncos took him in the 4th round of the 2011 Draft, and now
he's Peyton Manning's No. 1 tight end option.

This is another example of how significant a role natural ability
plays in becoming an elite athlete. Thomas spent his whole life
playing basketball, but was never going to reach elite status
because of factors out of his control (height). He spent a few
months playing football — a sport that he was genetically made to
play — and he's an NFL starter.